Australian Workers Observed, Followed to Bathroom

Workers at a government call center in Australia were ordered to observe a three-minute time limit when using the toilet and keep diary entries of how long they spent in the bathroom, according to the Australian Telegraph.

Managers at Medicare Australia were even following staff into bathrooms to hurry them along, it was claimed yesterday.

Staff at the headquarters were "white-hot" with anger following the introduction of the draconian productivity push, claiming it unfairly targeted pregnant women and older employees.

Managers ordered all staff to fill out the length of bathroom breaks in a "compliance diary", threatening staff who failed to spend 92 percent of their time on the phone with counseling and disciplinary action.

The call center staff, who said they felt "bullied and harassed" by the policy, outlined shocking examples of management invading their privacy.

They included team leaders regularly "popping in" while staff were going to the toilet because they were deemed to have taken too long, staff being lectured for failing to enter into a diary a one-minute toilet trip and management suggesting staff only use the bathroom at certain times.